Tides of War

As I said before, Enigma uses MS sAPI 5.1 (same as the one that ships with WindowsXP), the other icon must be for something else, and I would love to tell you what, but I dont know at the moment, and Im suprised that East didnt mention it.
Regarding the commands not being properly executed as you speak, can be due to your settings "Accuracy vs Performance" and the other thing that I cant remember the name of sliders in the Speech settings in the Control Panel..

Maybe you have a weird funny accent or speaks too fast or slow.. happens to me too sometimes, mostly on the commands "Rudder", "Heading" and "Course" other times I catch myself saying "Port" instead of "Starboard"

Hi Jesper,

I'd love to attach a screendump to illustrate how this new speech recognition profile shows up in the "Speech" Control Panel program - however, this forum doesn't seem to allow hosting graphics. Anyway, overall the voice recognition works well enough for me to use it - with the expection of the "set rudder" command (I've tried altering my pronounciation in various ways, too).

The "heading" command works like a charm, though. It catches almost every single number I give it - which is kinda impressive.

So far, I'm really amazed that you can actually control most aspects of the game just by using your own voice. It's pretty cool, actually!

However - as far as the game goes... well, do you think I'm totally out of line if I was to say that it seems to get... repetivtive very fast. The same ocean, the same enemies and - well, the same of everything? I mean - how fun is it to play after you've had tried it out for like 20 or 30 hours?

Kind regards,

Naval Blues

Hi East,

thank you again for your answer.

My advice for you guys - for the multiplayer sequel you mention - is that you:

* Change the copy protection system. My DVD drive has issues with it, and my computer locks up on occasion when trying to read the disc.

* Rework the interface totally. It looks... well, a bit dull, if you ask me. Further, the entire idea of having the map grid based on latitudes and longitudes is a really strange and ... well, foreign concept to a lot of people (including myself). Go for something more easy, or at least provide a much more simplified system for those who are not that convenient with this system.

* Invert mouse-option.

* 3D skyboxes? The present sky looks... well, flat.

* Verbal crew acknowledgements (from the XO).

* A much more realistic damage model, and not just a "health bar". It feels a bit too simple, if you ask me.

* A better external camera. Right now, the smoke gets in your view no matter how you turn around.

* A new editor for the manual - the "Quick Start Manual" for my copy of Enigma: Rising Tide International Gold Edition is among the worst I've ever since (and I've had computer games since I had my Commodore 64 in the mid-80's or so).

Anyway, it's really up to you guys. I'm just trying to give you my expressions after having seen Enigma: Rising Tide for the first time.

Kind regards,

Naval Blues

We appreciate your feedback.

- Starforce will likely remain our system of choice for the forseeable future, it has a very good record for not being hacked.

- You will like the multiplayer interface. Long and lat are required for global navigation and they are both displayed in the compass and the big tactical. It just takes a little practice.

- and keyboard mapping

- Is a skydome already...getting a new treatment for clouds (they operate on 3 stacked planes)

- Verbal (and text) crew responses already exist in GOLD

- Definitely need a better damage model

- Camera...the smoke is supposed to get in your eyes. Press F5 for spectator mode.

- What language is your quick start in? The english reads pretty well. There is a more detailed manual in a pdf if that is what you are looking for.

--East

You can"t display graphics in this forum?.....hmmmmm

Thats is correct that you can not upload pictures directly to our server. it would take too much bandwidth, diskspace and a lot of time to monitor whats being uploaded / maintain it.

Feel free to link to pictures from other locations. Most ISP's provides 10MB website space.

I see no reason why the MP client (CD) should be equipped with STF3 protection, since its supposed to be free. !?

Singleplayer games J, singleplayer games...a patch however would have to be since the SP is.

Hey East, are those stacked clouds due to a little bird telling you a secret a while back?

Secondly, Im not sure, but I think the player referring to the new editor for the manual is in fact speaking of typo's? Spellchecking may be in order..

We appreciate your feedback.
- Starforce will likely remain our system of choice for the forseeable future, it has a very good record for not being hacked.

- You will like the multiplayer interface. Long and lat are required for global navigation and they are both displayed in the compass and the big tactical. It just takes a little practice.

- and keyboard mapping

- Is a skydome already...getting a new treatment for clouds (they operate on 3 stacked planes)

- Verbal (and text) crew responses already exist in GOLD

- Definitely need a better damage model

- Camera...the smoke is supposed to get in your eyes. Press F5 for spectator mode.

- What language is your quick start in? The english reads pretty well. There is a more detailed manual in a pdf if that is what you are looking for.

--East

East,

if my feedback is useful to you, I'm glad I can help you guys out.

"Starforce" copy protection system - I can very well understand that you remain confident in its ability to fend off people with questionable agendas. However, as it appearantly doesn't work too well with certain CD/DVD-readers, honest people who have paid money for your products will risk being victims of the system. Like I said in an earlier post here, my ASUS DVD-player barely accepts the CD (it usually takes a few attempts for it to properly start the game).

Coordinate system - I understand that it takes some time of getting used to, but that's also the point I'm trying to make. You see, you guys have been working on this title for quite some time, and you can probably navigate the waters blind folded. However, that also makes you somewhat biased, so to speak. In comparison, I just got my copy of Enigma: Rising Tide in my hand, and I find the system highly confusing. For example, the first training mission says I'm supposed to take the ship to a given set of coordinates - which, at best, is a really hard concept even for people who know how the lantitude/longitude-system works in theory. With all respect for you and and your work, I think that you should ask users totally new to your products on how they perceive the user interface.

Verbal crew responses - I have Enigma: Rising Tide Gold Edition installed, but so far I havn't heard anyone say a single word to me (and I have the ambient and sound effects settings maxed out, so it's not like the settings are too low). I havn't found any other settings I've neglected, either (like a "Verbal cues on/off"-switch. When are you supposed to hear verbal feedback?

Spectator mode: the F5-mode is the one I'm talking about. It places the ship in the middle of the viewport, with the option to fully rotate 360 degrees around the ship. However, since the ship is in the middle, so is the smoke - which blocks the view.

Quick Start Manual: It is written in both English, French, German and Spanish. There's nothing wrong with the language, per se - what bugs me is the overall layout of the manual. I think that a well written set of instructions should inspire the reader and make him/her want to actually try out the game. In this case, it is almost like the author of the manual has done his/her best to actually make the reader not want to play the game. The manual doesn't contain any background information and further more, there are no graphics at all illustrating the text (like simple screenshots explaining the GUI et cetera).

I know I may sound a bit harsh, but I'm trying to be constructive, too (instead of just whining).

Kind regards,

Naval Blues

There should be a checkbox in the prefs to turn crew response on/off. (there is in the demo)

We are required to use copy protection by our publisher and them by the retailer. It's pretty much a non-negotiable issue. We don't use it, we don't go on shelf.

We have consistently gotten high marks for our interface in reviews. In addition, Silent Hunter III added interface components much like ours. I don't disagree with you that the long and lat can be confusing, however if you hover your mouse over the BIG TACTICAL screen it will show you the coordinates. We intended to also have a theatre map in game which would solve much of this complaint. Watch for it in the upcoming version.

I'm not sure what you are looking for in the spectator camera, if you zoom all the way out you will have a pretty clear view even if you are on fire from stem to stern.

The quick start wasn't meant to be inspirational, it was a direct result of player feedback about getting started. There isn't room in a DVD case to do both the quick start and the ships manual, so the quick start was printed. Both are included in your install directory. The Ships manual (I hate the layout) has graphics etc.

Feedback is always welcomed.